In recent years, more business activities, such as online shopping or online banking, are carried out on the network as the Internet and ebusiness technologies advance. Therefore, more information associated with personal privacy or business secrets is transmitted over the network. However, online transaction security is compromised by some malicious threats like Trojan horses and phishing fraud. As a result, how to identify a person and prevent identity theft on the network is increasingly concerned by those who are involved in network transactions.
Authentication with a security token apparatus is introduced to provide a low-cost, secure and easy to use solution to the above problem. It employs a strong two-factor mode combining the software and the hardware and using one time password technique for secure authentication in identity verification, providing an ideal means which takes into consideration both usability and security. The security token apparatus can be used to generate cryptographic keys, store digital certificates, and set user privileges etc., and assure that the user's private key always runs within its boundary.
With the development of security technologies, storage technologies are also progressing rapidly. For example, the portable mass storage device is compact and easy to use. Its storage medium may be flash memory, micro drive, Magnetic Random Access Memory (MRAM), Ferroelectric Random Access Memory (FRAM) or Static Random Access Memory (SRAM). This device has a static performance and a scalable capability.